End of preview - This article contains approximately 1832 words.
Subscribers: Log in now to read the full article
Not a Subscriber?
Choose from one of the following options
Back
Mexico & Nafta - June 2014 (ISSN 1741-444X)
Water resource management a major challenge
Residents of the San Bartolo Ameyalco neighbourhood in Mexico City clashed with police on 21 May as local authorities began long delayed water supply works, designed to provide drinking water to some 20,000 people. While the incident seemed like it was sparked by local opposition to the works, in actual fact it was driven by people’s fears that the local Alvaro Obregón borough (delegación) authorities might divert the water from a local spring that has supplied many of local residents to a nearby commercial development. Street vendors that supply the area with water also had an interest in derailing the works, as the incorporation of the area into the public water network means the end of their business. While this case may have been a highly localised problem derived from local political disputes, it does bring attention to the wider and much more significant issue of water infrastructure and resource management in the country.
